Financial Aid Application Process

Apply for Financial Assistance for Your Education

Assessing your eligibility for federal, state, and institutional financial aid (Lesley University sponsored funding) begins with your submission of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) to the U.S. Department of Education. After you complete the FAFSA, the university's Financial Aid Office will send you your Financial Aid award letter, or contact you regarding additional documentation that is required.

Submitting the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)

We recommend that you file the FAFSA when you apply for admission to the university, and for each subsequent year of your program to renew your eligibility. We are unable to award financial aid before you are accepted into a program; however, we will contact you if we need any documentation to complete your application. Submitting the FAFSA also authorizes Lesley University to disburse (credit) funds to you.

Then, for the fastest service, file the FAFSA online and use the IRS Data Retrieval Tool to make the process easier.

Use Lesley University's school code in your application: 002160

Verification Process and Other Documents

The U.S. Department of Education randomly selects about 30% of all students to complete a process known as "verification." Therefore, don't be concerned if you have been selected. After you complete the FAFSA, our Financial Aid Office will contact you for any additional verification documents that are required. We will contact you via your Lesley University email address, so please check this account regularly, or have it forwarded to an account you do check. Once you have been accepted, you can also log into your LOIS account to view a list of your required documents (under "My Documents").

Notification of Your Financial Aid Award

Once we have received your completed FAFSA and other documents that we may have requested, we will notify you of your award.

Tentative Award Letter (Undergraduate Students Only)

The tentative award letter is an early estimate of your financial aid eligibility. If you filed the FAFSA early with estimated tax information, the aid offered on your tentative award letter may change based on your (or your parents') actual tax return. The closer your estimates are to the actual amounts on your tax return, the closer the tentative award will be to the final award.

Financial Aid Award Letter (All Students)

The financial aid award letter is the official notification of your financial aid eligibility. The letter contains:

The types of financial aid that make up your award package

The amounts allocated for each term of your anticipated enrollment

An outline of your estimated education costs

Accepting Your Award

You are not required to accept scholarships or grants. We'll automatically apply these funds toward your tuition and fees.

Work-study funds are paid for the hours you work.

If you have received private funding from other sources, you will need to notify the Financial Aid Office.

If you have been offered Federal Direct Stafford Loans, you will need to accept, decline, or revise (decrease) the loan amount before we can credit your account.

For Stafford Loans, you will also need to complete a Master Promissory Note and participate in online loan Entrance Counseling with the U.S. Department of Education.